I'm With Her
by owlwayssandforever
Summary: Emma goes to cast her vote, but Killian's not entirely sure about the whole election thing.
1. Part I

_A/N: Just a little bitty bit about CS and the election, mostly because I saw this pic and it started the whole train of thought. Anyway, enjoy and uh, if you couldn't tell from the title, Clinton-supporters will probably like this a whole lot more than Trump-supporters. Sorry not sorry. #imwithher_

* * *

"Swan, where are you going?" Killian mumbled, as he rolled over in bed, good hand running over the empty space Emma's body usually occupied. He opened one eye just enough to see the clock on her nightstand read 3:32am in disturbingly bright red lights.

"Go back to sleep, Killian, I'll be back tonight," she answered in hushed tones, gently smoothing down his sleep rustled hair.

"Tonight?" he said, his confusion rendering him more awake, and he pushed himself up to a more seated position, leaning heavily against the headboard.

"I have to go to New York today," Emma said quietly.

"Why, has something happened? Did your parents use the – the telephone?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"No, nothing like that," Emma replied, her voice placating and calm. "I just have to go vote. And I never filed a change of address after we moved from New York since Storybrooke doesn't technically exist, so I have to drive down there today."

"Vote?" Killian asked, confused by yet another modern tradition.

"In the US, we elect our president – our leader. Two candidates run and then we all get to choose one, and the person who gets the most votes wins," Emma explained patiently.

"Sounds like a very noble endeavor."

"It has its flaws, but on the whole it is, yeah," she smiled.

"Well then I should come with you, and cast my vote too," Killian said, sitting up further and pushing the duvet back.

"Slow down, pirate," Emma chuckled, laying a hand gently on his bare chest. "Only US citizens can vote."

"Swan, can I ask you something?" Killian said after a moment, while Emma stood and shrugged on an oversized sweater that may or may not have been bought with the intention of Killian wearing it.

"Sure."

"Why do you care? I just mean that we live in Storybrooke, which doesn't really fall under the governance of the country, since as you said, it doesn't technically exist. So why does it matter to you who becomes the leader?" His brows were furrowed, and Emma couldn't help but smile a little as she thought about how best to answer his question.

"If this election were like any other, I might agree with you, but this one is different," she answered. "One of the candidates is a pretty bad guy, and a lot of people could be in danger if he gets elected. I just can't stand by and not let that happen."

"A savior through and through," Killian quipped, but Emma could hear a touch of bitterness in his voice, because she knew he didn't entirely understand.

"I'll pull up some information about the candidates on the laptop for you, and then I think you'll understand," Emma said, leaning forward across the bed to kiss him. "I have to go now though, otherwise I'll never get home at a reasonable time."

* * * * * Three hours later * * * * *

The phone rang, and Emma reached down to where she kept it in a cupholder of her little yellow bug, and she smiled as she saw Killian's name and picture flash across the screen.

"Hey you," she said, smiling to herself.

"Swan," Killian replied, his voice containing a note of panic, and Emma's heart immediately tensed. "This man is a complete lunatic! Do you have any idea the things he says he'll do, Swan? Gods, the things he would do to this town if he ever found out about it… it'd be horrific. How can people possibly support him? Why don't they like the woman, I don't understand? Please tell me you're voting for her, love."

"Don't worry, Killian, I am," Emma chuckled, amused at his reaction.

"Did you see the video, Swan? What he said about women, it's completely disgusting…" Emma could clearly see him recoiling from the computer as he watched the words that had enraged her so much. "Even in my worst days I never said anything like that… never thought anything like that…"

"That's because you're a much better man than he is, Killian," she answered.

"I hate this man so much, Swan," Killian whispered.

"Me too," she said quietly. "That's why I have to vote."

"Go elect her president," he said, and this time she heard the pride in his voice. "Love you, Swan."

"I love you too, Killian," Emma grinned, and she hung up the phone, smiling at the "I'm with Her" pin she had stuck to the front of her sweater.


	2. Part II

**_A/N: So I hadnt anticipated writing a second part to this, but a little nonnie bird chirped that they'd like to see a post-election reaction from CS, so here it is. It may not have been what they were looking for, but given my feelings and mental state in the wake of the election, this is what I've got._**

* * *

Emma turned the tv off and stood up without a word, leaving Killian gawking after her from the couch as she walked silently towards the stairs.

"Swan?" he called out, careful to keep his voice low so he didn't wake Henry, who had gone to bed nearly three hours earlier. "Don't you want to see how it ends?"

Emma stopped, her right foot resting on the bottom step and her fingers tightening around the banister.

"No," she whispered, barely audible, without turning around.

Another second passed before she moved again, climbing the stairs at a pace that spoke of bone weariness and the weight of the world pressing down upon the shoulder blades. Killian watched her go and waited long enough to be sure that Emma had made it to their bedroom before he reached over to the coffee table and picked up the remote, powering on the tv. He simply couldn't accept it, not yet. There were still more states whose votes needed to be counted, things could still change, they could still stop this madness.

Yet another state blinked red, and another, and another after that, until the little red bar next to the madman's name had moved past the blank line indicating the halfway point. The broadcasters on tv officially declared him the winner, and cut to a shot of him looking for a the world like a man whose bluff had just been called in the most public way possible. Killian turned the tv off and leaned back against the cushions, his heart slowly filling with lead. _How could so many people have done this? How could an entire country be okay with a man who felt that anyone who was not exactly like him was inferior?_ Killian had occasionally thought about the prospect of having a child with Emma, but for the first time ever, he was not made happy by the vision of a little girl with jet black hair and bright green eyes. Tonight, he imagined himself, sitting with his daughter on his lap, having to explain to her that half of the world saw her as less than human, simply because of her gender.

Worry creased his brow as he considered what might happen to Storybrooke under this new regime. Magic, in the hands of this demon. Werewolves and mermaids executed or studied for being different. _Would it be better for them to return to the Enchanted Forest?_ His instinct was to flee – everything about the man screamed "danger", and yet Killian had never been one to run. His fight-or-flight instinct drove him to fight, every single time, had led to countless punches being landed on someone's face and more than one dagger sunk into someone's flesh. But this was not a fight that he could win by punching or stabbing, this was a fight that required so much more, and he was not sure he was up to the challenge. He felt the weariness that had made Emma's frame sag start to weigh on his own shoulders.

Slowly, Killian stood from the couch and walked toward the stairs, climbing his way to the top. He pushed the door to the bedroom that he and Emma shared open and stepped inside, closing it silently behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Emma lying flat on her back, hands folded across her chest, and instantly knew she was awake, not least because she was strictly a curled-up-in-a-ball-on-her-side sleeper.

"What do we do now?" he whispered, as he slipped under the covers next to her and settled on his back, eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"We could leave," Emma answered, turning her head a fraction of an inch toward Killian. "We could gather up the whole town and take the Jolly back through a portal to the Enchanted Forest. We could take back my parents' kingdom and rebuild the damage from the curse and we could be safe and happy. Or we could put up a protection spell around the town, we could build a wall of magic to keep them out and make sure that we're safe."

Killian knew as she was saying these things that they could not do either of them, and from the tone in her voice, it was clear that she knew it too.

"It wouldn't be right," he replied, turning to look at her, and he saw tears making her eyes shine in the moonlight. He had an odd thought in that moment, that something that was a mark of sadness could be so beautiful. It almost made him feel hopeful.

"No, it wouldn't," she agreed. "There are people out there who are going to need protecting, people who are going to be in danger because of what he wants to do, because of the things he's said. And they can't leave, they can't just pick up and go to the Enchanted Forest like we can. There are women and minorities and non-heterosexual people and disabled individuals who are going to need people to fight with them and to fight for them against all the hatred and the fear that's out there. He can't win, he just can't. I mean, I know he won the election, but he can't win control over our hearts. He can't win power over our minds."

"So we stay and fight," Killian stated.

"We stay and fight."


End file.
